Tom Skerritt, 'Alien' and 'Top Gun' actor, dies at 93

Tom Skerritt, the actor known for roles in M*A*S*H, Alien and Top Gun, died Wednesday in Seattle of natural causes. He was 93.

Skerritt's six-decade career spanned more than 170 film and television credits. He broke through in 1970 with Robert Altman's satirical war film M*A*S*H, playing Southern surgeon Duke Forrest. In the 1970s, he appeared in The Turning Point (1977), a film nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and Ridley Scott's science fiction classic Alien (1979), which Skerritt initially declined because of its modest two-million-dollar budget. After viewing Scott's The Duellists, he reconsidered and took the role of Captain Dallas.

Skerritt worked frequently with major directors and starred opposite established actors. He played Tom Cruise's Air Force instructor Mike "Viper" Metcalf in Top Gun (1986) and appeared with Robert Redford in A River Runs Through It (1992). He also starred with Jodie Foster in Contact and Diane Keaton in The Other Sister. On television, Skerritt won an Emmy for his role as Sheriff Jimmy Brock on David E. Kelley's Picket Fences (1992–1996), playing the calm patriarch of Rome, Wisconsin amid the town's eccentricities.

His family statement noted his character beyond acting: "While the world knew Tom through his remarkable acting career, we knew him for his humor, curiosity, wisdom, generosity and the love he brought into our lives. He cared deeply about imagination, creativity, storytelling, service, veterans, the natural world and helping others find and share their own voices."

Skerritt served four years in the U.S. Air Force before his acting debut in the 1962 war film War Hunt. In 2012, he co-founded the Red Badge Project, an initiative to help veterans process PTSD through storytelling. His final film role was in the western drama Broke (2025) alongside Dennis Quaid. He received an Emmy, and was nominated for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.